Breaking Down Complexity with HDOT & HDNT

Although the Scriptures’ overall message is simple enough for even children to understand, there are spots in both testaments where the original-language grammar gets pretty complex. Complex enough that English translations often simplify it for readability. There’s nothing wrong with this, but it does make it harder to get back to the detail of the original. This is where the Lexham Discourse Bible and High Definition projects can fill a void, especially if you’ve never studied Greek or Hebrew.

Here’s what I’m talking about. In Deuteronomy 12:29–30, there are two commands, with a whole bunch of context given before them. Because of the complexity, most versions break up the one complex statement into a series of shorter ones. This is an appropriate translation strategy, but it can have the unintended consequence of obscuring the main points. The main points are the commands not to become ensnared with and not to inquire about the foreign gods in the land God is giving to Israel. But there’s some preamble to set the stage for these commands. Here’s what it looks like in the Lexham Discourse Hebrew Bible.

The blue “complex” statement on the left of verse 29 indicates that the main clause will, because of all the extra detail that precedes it, be indented one level. Verse 29 establishes the context in which the “big idea” commands apply (i.e., when they enter the land and dispossess the nations), but this is not the big idea. Verse 30 is indented one level, indicating this is where the main clause is found.

But wait, there’s more! The command “take care” in v. 30 is also not the big idea, creating another “complex” situation. This command is what’s called a metacomment, an attention-getting device that draws attention to something surprising or important that follows. In this case, the main points are actually in the commands beginning with “that”: not being ensnared to follow foreign gods and not inquiring about them. All that precedes is setting the stage for these important comments. Here is what the same passage looks like in the Lexham High Definition Old Testament.

This kind of detail is very hard to find in translation, but it can be easily found using the Lexham Discourse resources propositional outline.

We find the same kind of thing in the New Testament in Ephesians 2:1–5. Just as in Deut. 12:29–30, we find a complex construction that leads into yet another complex construction. You wouldn’t be able to find this kind of detail in most translations, due to their simplifying the complex sentence into several simpler ones. So what’s the big idea? That we have been made alive together with Christ. All the rest is (very important) scene-setting detail.

There are two parts to the scene-setting: the believer’s situation and God’s situation. Paul reminds us of the specific context in which God acted on our behalf, making us alive in Christ.